Online Piracy Is More Popular than Ever, Research Suggests

Megalith

Megalith

24-bit/48kHz
Staff member
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
13,000
Despite the argument that music, movies, games, and other digital content is cheaper and easier than ever to (legally) procure, piracy continues to go up: that’s according to tracking outfit Muso, which recorded more than 300 billion visits to pirate sites in 2017. Piracy via streaming is very popular, and the majority of pirates originate from the US.

Muso tracks piracy trends across various media categories and has spotted some interesting trends. TV-shows remain the most popular among pirates with 106.9 billion visits last year, followed by music (73.9 billion) and film (53.2 billion). Mobile piracy is on the rise as well. For the first time, more people were accessing pirated TV content via mobile devices (52%) where desktops used to be the favorite device.
 
Some shows get pirated because they don't all air around the world at the same time. If you don't watch something after it first airs in some country. You're likely going to get hit by spoilers. So may as well just download it and watch it. Instead of waiting 3 months or so to air in your country. And this can be fixed just by airing the show at the same time around the world.
 
So much and long ads kill it for everyone. I went to US recently and it seems they have even more ads than us in Canada, this is out of control.
Almost seems to me that there's more ads then content these days...

Also availability and airing time doesn't help...

I'll gladly pay for Netflix, Prime, Hulu... If cable removed ads, I would subscribe too.
 
Although i don't pirate or even watch TV, i can see where people are coming from with the whole more ads then content. At least on the web you can block some ads, on cable your basically watching Adavision.



most the content is also poopchute nowadays.
 
nah, there's no excuse.

Everyone does it because they can.
it's easily accessible and convenient, compared to 10-15 years ago.
 
It's still streaming. I'll stick to buying the blue disks when they go on sale (I can usually avoid spoilers, but once in a while some idiot posts something assuming everyone watches these things as soon as they come out, or the just enjoy being ass holes...but mostly I've forgotten them by the time I get the disc...well yeah who dies in the latest Star Wars I heard about but I have no desire to see it, nothing will ever top Episode IV
--spoiler alert...oops).
 
Go back and look at the arguments for pirating 20 years ago and they don't apply, and yet it's only gotten worse and that's because you can't beat free.
 
GNUse_the_force said:
Although i don't pirate or even watch TV, i can see where people are coming from with the whole more ads then content. At least on the web you can block some ads, on cable your basically watching Adavision.

most the content is also poopchute nowadays.
Click to expand...
That'd make a lot more sense if DVRs didn't exist, but they do, so that's just an excuse.

And if most content is crap, then why are people downloading it? Answer: because it's not crap. I've been around a long time and the content on TV, cable and streaming is pretty fucking amazing. I certainly don't watch it all, so maybe all that I pass on sucks, but there's more good content than I can possibly watch.

WhoMe said:
It's still streaming. I'll stick to buying the blue disks when they go on sale (I can usually avoid spoilers, but once in a while some idiot posts something assuming everyone watches these things as soon as they come out, or the just enjoy being ass holes...but mostly I've forgotten them by the time I get the disc...well yeah who dies in the latest Star Wars I heard about but I have no desire to see it, nothing will ever top Episode IV
--spoiler alert...oops).
Click to expand...
Ahem...Ep V is a much better movie than IV.
 
The problem here in canada is the media companies in the USA cannot provide the medium that we want to watch. Youtube TV would be nice but not allowed in canada. Hulu not in Canada.. HBO go not in canada. It really sucks there is a huge market for online TV and yet in canada no one is going after it.
 
Kdawg said:
nah, there's no excuse.

Everyone does it because they can.
it's easily accessible and convenient, compared to 10-15 years ago.
Click to expand...

Copyright infringement services are outpacing official distributors by a lot. The real MVP!
 
doz said:
People get tired of their cable bill constantly rising to unheard of prices. When basic cable + a sports package costs $130/month with only 3 BASIC cable boxes (not the fancy Contour bullshit w/ DVR), it is out of the reach of MANY people.
Click to expand...

Cable has nothing to do with this. The issue is shitty stream quality and insane segmentation of content. For instance Netflix has shitty video quality and has pretty much nothing to watch unless you're a tv series maniac. Many studios want their own streaming service with separate fees and limited content. Basically it mainly comes down to predatory content licensing and restrictions, then cost. I still get BD due to quality but they are a pain in the ass. It's not just the cost IMHO, it also has to do with content availability and convenience. I have folks at work who are happy to pay $250 for their cable, streaming, etc. I'm not happy to pay my FIOS bill but I'm happy with the service overall (gigabit internet, cheapest HDTV package, one cable box). I still get my movies on BD though and don't stream anything due to poor quality. No video on demand either mainly due to poor quality compared to BD. I simply cannot trade quality for convenience.
 
nilepez said:
Go back and look at the arguments for pirating 20 years ago and they don't apply, and yet it's only gotten worse and that's because you can't beat free.
Click to expand...

Especial when free doesn't have ads, can be better quality, and you can watch is on any device you want (computer, tablet, phone, etc)
 
Wolf_Tech said:
The problem here in canada is the media companies in the USA cannot provide the medium that we want to watch. Youtube TV would be nice but not allowed in canada. Hulu not in Canada.. HBO go not in canada. It really sucks there is a huge market for online TV and yet in canada no one is going after it.
Click to expand...

And here in the US, they are messing streaming up worse than it already is.

Let me subscribe to 1, maybe 2 streaming companies to get everything I want (Movies, TV series), and I'll do it.
Instead, the media companies have gotten too greedy and decided to start their own streaming sites.

Soon instead of a $100 cable bill, it will be $100 for several different the streaming sites, just to get most of what you used to get on cable.
 
nilepez said:
And if most content is crap, then why are people downloading it? Answer: because it's not crap. I've been around a long time and the content on TV, cable and streaming is pretty fucking amazing.
.
Click to expand...

Maybe it got better or it just wasn't my thing. Stopped watching it years ago.
 
So here's a valid question, if I have HBO but download an HBO exclusive video is it really piracy?

And to further mix that up, if I have the ability to watch anything that I download because I already pay for those channels, but I am not forking over a monthly charge for DVR service again am I really a pirate?
 
sfsuphysics said:
So here's a valid question, if I have HBO but download an HBO exclusive video is it really piracy?

And to further mix that up, if I have the ability to watch anything that I download because I already pay for those channels, but I am not forking over a monthly charge for DVR service again am I really a pirate?
Click to expand...
According to the piracy nazis, YES.

What is crap is the expensive ass cable that we have here is not even 1080p broadcast. What the fuck. And here we are pushing "4k" televisions with 720p content being broadcast. Yeah, there is a reason piracy exists. Not saying I do it of course :p
 
On the media side. . .let's each start a channel service and charge out the a$$. Go figure when online legal alternatives stop being an effective choice for the consumer. Let's not forget how we've stepped back two decades and many things are only release regionally causing others to result to more direct tactics.

On the software side, let's all switch to an annual business model that means no one actually ever purchases software, they just lease it. It was one thing for movie making, album editing apps that might make a lot of revenue for the user. It's something else altogether for the common guy wanting to rip their own media to use how they choose. No wonder those would honestly pay the old school $30-$50 opt out again for cracked apps(along with their risks).

There was a brief moment when the powers that be made things available and affordable. In the last year or so the buy per feature or per channel model have led people back to those salty seas. Some gamer's think micro-transactions suck, but they're just a symptom-not the cause.
 
I pay for an anime streaming service and the site goes down or is slow quite frequently so i will watch (pirate?) from other free streaming sites online during that time. Is it even pirating if i don't download it? I don't feel bad doing it since my monthly subscription should in theory go to the studios who make the content (in theory) but its sad that a pirate streaming site has better reliability and uptime then the one that i pay / subscribe to, and none of this exclusivity crap like "we have season 2 but you have to watch season 1 on xyz service" or we have episodes 1-40 and 55-70 but we don't have 40-55 wtf is that! This is the type of crap that leads people to pirate. Get your shit together people i am paying you money!
 
nutzo said:
Especial when free doesn't have ads, can be better quality, and you can watch is on any device you want (computer, tablet, phone, etc)
Click to expand...

If it's better quality, then it's coming from Amazon, which means you could buy the episode there, if higher quality and commercial is what you desire.
As for devices, I'm pretty sure most cable providers allow you to stream to any device at this point, so that's a red herring.

nutzo said:
And here in the US, they are messing streaming up worse than it already is.

Let me subscribe to 1, maybe 2 streaming companies to get everything I want (Movies, TV series), and I'll do it.
Instead, the media companies have gotten too greedy and decided to start their own streaming sites.

Soon instead of a $100 cable bill, it will be $100 for several different the streaming sites, just to get most of what you used to get on cable.
Click to expand...

If you get Direct TV's streaming package, you can pay as little as 35/month (and you'll get a free Apple TV...maybe Roku is also an option, not sure) if you subscribe for 3 months. From there, premiums are pretty reasonable (5-8bucks). Since I consider Cinemax totally optional, HBO+Starz is an extra 18/month (if you get both, 5 if you only get HBO).

That seems pretty reasonable to me. I'll agree that CBS ALl Access is not worth it. It could be if they had more content, but as of now, at any given time you basically get 1 show. Fall/winter was ST. Right now it's the Good Fight. No idea what htey'll have after that.

Probably the way to go is sign up for it via Amazon after whatever show you're interested in ends binge it and drop it.
 
Last edited:
It's no surprise. There's benefits to pirating your shows. No ads, no $100 or more bill, and watch your show when you want to instead of when you're told to.
 
and i just wonder how credible that research is; where did they get the data etc...

But i think as its covered already in previous posts, the companies are getting too greedy - after they eliminated rental offices, and try to make/skim more buck on the side from their customers.
 
cyklondx said:
and i just wonder how credible that research is; where did they get the data etc...

But i think as its covered already in previous posts, the companies are getting too greedy - after they eliminated rental offices, and try to make/skim more buck on the side from their customers.
Click to expand...
Eliminated Rental offices?
 
Better that nobody knows the truth. Otherwise another way on piracy. Which as we all know was as effective as the war on drugs.
 
If there was a single service with all movies/tv shows, I'd gladly subscribe. Instead, there's a bunch of different services and it looks like it's set to get worse from here on out.
 
I keep waiting for all the studios to team up and sue everything Kodi related into oblivion.

Better not touch my Plex though, I paid real money for that (to support the devs, nothing to do with studios).
 
Burticus said:
I keep waiting for all the studios to team up and sue everything Kodi related into oblivion.

Better not touch my Plex though, I paid real money for that (to support the devs, nothing to do with studios).
Click to expand...
They're going to sue kodi for what? Being able to play audio and video files?
 
First we used Netflix DVDs, then more and more of what we wanted to watch was unavailable or had long wait times. We've been using Netflix streaming for a few years, but the movie selection is ridiculously lackluster and they keep removing TV shows while we're in the middle of them, since Netflix is so focused on original content. Hulu might be an okay replacement for TV shows, but movie selection is again lackluster. It seems like most movies we want to watch aren't included in any streaming services, and are only available as a 24hr streaming rental that costs twice what physical disc rentals cost.

This "research" is about as surprising as a study showing people enjoy vacations more than hospital stays.
 
pacmanfan said:
First we used Netflix DVDs, then more and more of what we wanted to watch was unavailable or had long wait times. We've been using Netflix streaming for a few years, but the movie selection is ridiculously lackluster and they keep removing TV shows while we're in the middle of them, since Netflix is so focused on original content. Hulu might be an okay replacement for TV shows, but movie selection is again lackluster. It seems like most movies we want to watch aren't included in any streaming services, and are only available as a 24hr streaming rental that costs twice what physical disc rentals cost.

This "research" is about as surprising as a study showing people enjoy vacations more than hospital stays.
Click to expand...
Redbox rental is a buck fifty (less if they send you a coupon which they regularly do). A rental on Amazon of old movies is 4 bucks or less and most of those types of movies can be purchased on DVD for under 10 bucks and often the Blu Rays can be found in that price range too.

Over and over, peeps on [H] argue that prices are too high, no matter what the price is. "Movies are too expensive, I'll watch at home." "DVD/BD are too expensive and/or Rentals are too expensive, so I pirate"

For fuck's sake, when you can rent new releases for 2 bucks (less on DVD) and that's too much, or driving to the grocery store or a 7-11 is just too much effort, what you're really saying is "I can get it for free, so why would I rent/buy it"?
 
nilepez said:
They're going to sue kodi for what? Being able to play audio and video files?
Click to expand...

I don't think "Kodi" exists as a money making organization, it's an open source project as far as I know... no money there. Sure they could shut the project down I guess but it would probably pop up under a different name. I was referring to the hundreds of different devices that "use" Kodi to play files via the streaming add ons. And I don't think it's a good idea, I just wouldn't put it past the industry to do something like that. I mean, RIAA would sue "The Internet" if they could.
 
If money isnt oozing out of your pores people are going to spend less, or no money, whenever possible except when they are feeling "altruistic" and they follow the rules only only when it suits their morals. Take sales tax, how many people declared them on their taxes when they live in states that require them to report out of state purchases? e.g. Amazon purchases. It is all about whether or not you care who you are screwing over, then you defend them etc.
 
Would be interested to know what age range pirates the most. I'm guessing younger for obvious reasons. Get married, a house, a kid, a full time job, etc. See how much time you have left to even watch TV or movies.
 
ewb302 said:
Would be interested to know what age range pirates the most. I'm guessing younger for obvious reasons. Get married, a house, a kid, a full time job, etc. See how much time you have left to even watch TV or movies.
Click to expand...
I barely have time to do what I want even when I take vacation! lol.. I pirated heavily as a young teenager.. nowadays I am married, have a house, have two kids, have a full time job, etc.. My backlog of TV shows, movies, and games is so massive, that I am just giving up until I hit retirement 30-40 years from now lol..
 
Who pirates music these days with Spotify, Google, Amazon, and iTunes? Aside from a few rare tracks or hold outs (looking at you Tool) , you have access to an unbelievable selection not to mention it's completely ad-free. With video content, you can subscribe to every video service out there and still have no where near the content access in comparison to any of the previously-mentioned music services. To throw more salt on the wound, media companies would prefer to further fragment the market with their very limited IP portfolio by setting up their own streaming service rather than keeping things under one roof. Lastly, new(er) content is almost impossible to find on a subscription based streaming service. Oh yeah, don't forget about the barrage of ads as so many others have mentioned.

Maybe they'll figure it out one day.
 
risc said:
10 - 15 years ago it was just as easy, if not easier, than it is now.
Click to expand...


nah, in 2003, there weren't so many pirate sites, bittorrent and shit.
Nowadays, there are tons of fast filelocker clouds, and lots more people sharing scene content.
 
elation said:
Who pirates music these days with Spotify, Google, Amazon, and iTunes? Aside from a few rare tracks or hold outs (looking at you Tool) , you have access to an unbelievable selection not to mention it's completely ad-free. With video content, you can subscribe to every video service out there and still have no where near the content access in comparison to any of the previously-mentioned music services. To throw more salt on the wound, media companies would prefer to further fragment the market with their very limited IP portfolio by setting up their own streaming service rather than keeping things under one roof. Lastly, new(er) content is almost impossible to find on a subscription based streaming service. Oh yeah, don't forget about the barrage of ads as so many others have mentioned.

Maybe they'll figure it out one day.
Click to expand...


those music services are still expensive compared to free mp3 of the newest albums.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top